Making Informed Decisions for Better Health

The Spectrum of Care

As outlined in the previous sections, various factors can influence the decisions made and actions taken by you and your healthcare practitioners regarding testing. No decision can be viewed as entirely clear-cut, and the elements influencing decision-making can be seen as existing along a continuum of possibilities. Balancing these influences according to a given situation can be central to improving healthcare. The scenarios in the following table illustrate some of these factors and address just a few examples of ways that testing decisions may be considered. They are listed according to three general categories along the spectrum of care.

To read a more detailed discussion of the examples provided, click on each Scenario.

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This article was last reviewed on February 12, 2014. | This article was last modified on May 21, 2015.

The review date indicates when the article was last reviewed from beginning to end to ensure that it reflects the most current science. A review may not require any modifications to the article, so the two dates may not always agree.

The modified date indicates that one or more changes were made to the article. Such changes may or may not result from a full review of the article, so the two dates may not always agree.